HARTFORD, Conn. – William E. Lee, 78, formerly of Portland, passed away peacefully on Friday, July 5, 2024.
Bill was born in Hartford, Conn. on June 14, 1946, the son of William and Patricia K. Lee. Bill grew up in New Britain, Conn. and spent his adult life split between New England, Japan, and West Virginia. He attended Reed and Trinity Colleges and received a Ph.D. from Boston College. Bill taught English and Statistics at various colleges in West Virginia, Japan, and Portland.
Bill is survived by his siblings Elizabeth Lee and Christopher Lee of Maine.
He was predeceased by his parents; and his wife, Taeko.
While in Portland, Bill helped found the Portland Food Co-Op and supported the Southern Maine Workers’ Center. Vegetable gardening was a favorite pastime and he and his wife Taeko took full advantage of Portland’s community gardens. Bill spent the last years of his life happily in Morgantown, W.Va. where he is remembered as a kind, gentle, and generous soul.
A memorial service will be held in Morgantown, W.Va. at the Fred L. Jenkins Funeral Home at a date yet to be determined.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Join the Conversation
We believe it’s important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It’s a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. Read more...
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
For those stories that we do enable discussion, our system may hold up comments pending the approval of a moderator for several reasons, including possible violation of our guidelines. As the Maine Trust’s digital team reviews these comments, we ask for patience.
Comments are managed by our staff during regular business hours Monday through Friday and limited hours on Saturday and Sunday. Comments held for moderation outside of those hours may take longer to approve.
By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is found on our FAQs.
You can modify your screen name here.
Show less
Join the Conversation
Please sign into your Press Herald account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.